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Our student tour starts in Germany, focusing on Berlin and Dresden. We are in Berlin for 2 days and spend a half day in Dresden on the way to the Czech Republic.
Our travel to Berlin and Dresden Germany encompasses day 2-4 of our educational tour of Berlin and Dresden Germany, Prague Czech Republic, Krakow Poland, Budapest Hungary, and Vienna Austria. For more on planning for this educational travel see my post, Student Travel - Germany and Eastern Europe.
Day 2 Berlin
The flight from Amsterdam to Berlin is a quick hour and fifteen minutes. We are tired but excited to start our trip.
As the plane circles the airport, it banks and we are shown Berlin from the air. Typical house and building rooftops line up like dominos.
Then we flew over green space that looked like dozens of miniature fairy gardens, each manicured with a little garden house, some with roses climbing up fences.
I love to garden and just as I was starting to wonder about these lush plots of green, the plane was suddenly landing. In a few minutes we were gathering our belongings, leaving the plane, and the trip began.
Day 2 Berlin - Our First Tour
They weren’t joking when they said that we would be touring the day we landed. We loaded onto a tour bus and took a short ride to our hotel where we dropped our luggage.
I assumed that we would be right back on the bus, but instead, we took a walk. Across the major road that ran by our hotel, and down a short lane to a train stop.
That’s right, while we were in Berlin we road the trains to some of our tours and the restaurants we visited.
Coming from a suburb community where we drive everywhere, using public trains was a great experience for the kids and the adults on the tour.
The tour director took care of the tickets and explained the public transit system and gave us direction on how to navigate stops. If you aren’t traveling with a guide, check out Berlin's Public Transit Website to learn how to navigate the train system in Berlin and travel like a local.
Our hotel was located by Schoenefeld airport so the train ride took about a ½ hour into the sites we toured in Berlin.
Hackescher Markt and Spandauer Vorstadt
Our first stop was Hackescher Markt. This triangular square is right by the train station. Restaurants, shops, and outdoor cafes line the square. Often a meeting place, it was a great place to sit with a drink and watch the crowds from the trains.
From the market, we took a walking tour of the Spandauer Vorstadt. This is in the historic Old Berlin and contains the few remaining original buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries that remain post-WWII. It is also the Jewish center.
Our tour focused on the history of the area where we walked through a narrow walkway, that opened into a courtyard. Our tour guide detailed Jewish history, pointing out landmarks and other points of interest.
The area is restored and now mixed in are shops, art galleries, and cafes. Some in our group head to the Birkenstock store. They came back laden with orders from home.
Others from our group noticed the streetlights called Ampelmännchen or little street light man. They are noticeably different than the stick figures seen on other street lights.
Our tour director explained that these figures seen in the picture below are one of the few remaining symbols of East Germany that has survived since the reunification of Germany and Berlin.
Officials tried to remove these East German figures and replace them with the West German stick figures but Germans had grown fond of them and rallied to have them remain as we see them today.
Dinner in Berlin
After our tour, we headed to a restaurant for our first meal. A German meatball on rice and a brownie.
Most reviews of these educational tours criticized the food. But on our tour, I felt like the food was local and appropriate. I managed to capture a picture of most meals. Some were better than others. My son, a picky eater ate everything on his plate, as there was little time for snacking on tour.
After dinner, we rode the trains back to our hotel. We checked in and were pleasantly surprised with the accommodations. It was modern and clean.
Just what we needed for our first nights rest in almost 36 hours.
Day 3 - Berlin
This day started with our first breakfast. Unlike the typical American breakfast of eggs, bacon, and sauage, we had a buffet of breads, lunch meats, cheeses, hard boiled eggs, olives, pickles, and condiments. There were also cereals, juice, coffee and tea.
We loaded our tour bus right after breakfast and were on our way. As we travel through the streets if felt to me that Berlin is alive with energy. It was a mixture of old and new, with modern buildings next to the historic.
Museum Island
Our bus made a quick stop at the preserved portion of the Berlin Wall. One thing that I will remember Berlin for is the graffiti. It is everywhere. The Berlin Wall is no different. Covered with graffiti, it is far less ominous than the barrier it served for 40 years when it separated East Berlin from West Berlin.
Next, we stop at Lustgarten which sits on Museum Island. The Lustgarten is a large open promenade where rallies are often held. Standing there our tour guide points out all the museums that line the huge square on every side in case some would like to return for a visit during our free time.
The Brandenburg Gate was our next stop. The last standing city gate, this central meeting area is full of tour groups.
On the day at the Brandenburg Gate, several US celebrities were there too filming for a TV show.
Taking a breath it was amazing to look around and see the beauty of the buildings and absorb the history of the area from Napoleon to WWII to present.
Government District
A somber stop was at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This memorial is meant to be experienced. Consisting of 2,711 concrete blocks laid out in a grid, that vary in height, walking between them over the memorial causes a feeling of entrapment and confusion.
It was a moving memorial that caused us to slow down and reflect on the tragedy and loss of WWII.
As we continued, our tour director moved from WWII to present stopping at the Reichstag Building or Berlin’s Parliament Building. Reconstructed after Berlin's reunification in the 1990s, it now serves the parliament.
A key feature of the building is its huge glass dome. Our tour director notes that it is built of glass in an effort to symbolize a more transparent government.
For lunch, we grabbed a sandwich at the area around Check Point Charlie. We spent several hours in this area visiting the Topography of Terror museum and walking along a preserved portion of the wall.
Dinner in Berlin
That evening we took the trains to a restaurant where we dined on a dinner of Currywurst, a fried pork sausage with curry-flavored ketchup and more curry powder on top. Maybe an acquired taste, but it is a favorite meal in Germany.
The train ride back to our hotel was quiet and sleepy with the rocking motion of the train. Back at the hotel at around 9PM, we settled in quickly to prepare for the next day.
Day 4 - Dresden Day Trip
We loaded up our tour bus early, right after breakfast.
It was chilly in the morning, and I was glad I wore my light jacket, even in June. For tips on packing for a tour in Europe, check out my post Travel Essentials - What to Pack.
Some of our group, including my son were still sleeping as we sat on the bus waiting. This was a great learning moment of the importance of being on time when traveling with a group.
As we drove out of Berlin, we passed major automobile companies, Audi, Mercedes, etc. Cars were scurrying around us to work and as we slowly made our way out of town I again glimpsed the green gardens I had seen on our flight in.
Scherbergartens
Hidden in small plots of land along the highway or rail lines, these gardens captured my interest so I checked with our tour guide and he told me the history of the allotment gardens or the Schrebergarten
In the 1860s German cities were crowded with little fresh food and green space. A German physician, Dr. Schreber started promoting the need for fresh air and exercise for children trapped in these cities. At his death, they created the first Schrebergarten for kids.
Over time these plots of green space transformed into family gardens of fresh fruits and vegetables, in addition to green space. Fanatically maintained, these mini garden plots are leased and handed down from generation to generation. While most contain a tiny house, they do not allow permanent residency although some do permit overnight stays.
Soon we are out of Berlin and flying down a very modern highway.
Day 4 - Dresden
Dresden, Germany is a close day trip to Berlin about a 2-hour ride by car, bus or train.
Our next stop was a morning tour of Dresden. Sitting on the Elbe river, prior to WWII, Dresden was known as the Florence of Germany. But in 1945 as the war came to an end, Allied Forces bombed and destroyed most of the city.
Since the reunification of Germany, Dresden is rebuilt in the replication of historic buildings.
Dresden is beautiful and well worth a visit.
We toured Zwinger Castle and then had several hours to wander the streets. Our meeting place was Bruhls Terrace seen below, which overlooks the Elbe River. We came and went from here as we explored the city and absorbed its culture. This terrace was a great place to people watch and catch the view of the river and sights beyond.
For lunch, we ate a burger joint called hans im gluck. Three days into our trip, the kids were longing for familiar food.
After lunch in the afternoon, we loaded back onto the bus and made our way to Prague in the Czech Republic.
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